Sam Allardyce admitted he was a "relieved" man last night after a Steven Taylor equaliser stopped the rot on Tyneside.

The Newcastle boss said: "The result is huge and does take the pressure off, but it is not often you get Arsenal on the back foot for so long. They were hanging on, not us. We did our best to get the win."

Taylor struck in the 60th minute to cancel out Emmanuel Adebayor's fourthminute volley as Big Sam, his players and the Toon Army put on a united front of pride and passion.

It was only Newcastle's second point in six games, but Allardyce said: "I would have said at the start a draw might have felt like a win - but we didn't get what we deserved.

"I am always relieved when I get a result. I have been for 17 years - and I don't want to see a crisis ever again."

Arsene Wenger saw Arsenal go four points clear at the top of the Premier League and said: "I felt it was a crisis here and I anticipated a different game.

"Newcastle fought like mad for 90 minutes and made it difficult for us."